Northeast Indiana Insurance Leaders to Develop Industry-Specific Certificate & Degrees

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Key insurance industry leaders from around Northeast Indiana met Tuesday, August 14, at the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnerships office in downtown Fort Wayne. At the meeting, insurance leaders decided to move forward with an Ivy Tech-Northeast proposal for the development of an industry certificate and an associate's degree in risk management insurance. The insurance leaders in attendance represent the development of a regional insurance cluster that also plans to develop other degree programs with additional universities for bachelor and graduate programs.

Northeast Indiana's principle insurance companies employ over 4,000 people in the region. In 2011, a regional industry study commissioned by the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership identified communities with degree programs in insurance as having competitive advantages for locating and retaining insurance operations. A local survey of insurance companies recorded feedback related to the challenges of talent attraction and retention, the need for academic improvements, and the potential impact on business climate.

"The establishment of our insurance certificate is just a stepping stone as the insurance cluster builds an organization that is driven to address industry and market demands," says Pat Sullivan, executive vice president of the Hylant Group. "We are focused on taking a sustained approach to developing a talented workforce and positively impacting the region's potential for success and growth."

At Tuesday's meeting, the group agreed to form a committee to establish a proposal for the formalization of the insurance cluster into a non-profit 501c(6) organization. Additional conversation surrounded various strategies around attracting additional and supporting businesses and building career awareness in the region.

"The Partnership is focused on creating a demand-driven region where we are producing the talent our target industries need," said John Sampson, president and CEO of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership. "By working with the insurance cluster and the other clusters we have identified, we can more effectively target our economic development strategies to develop the business climate needed to make Northeast Indiana a top global competitor."

The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership has worked with local economic development organizations across the region for more than five years to identify and research five key industry clusters, including insurance, in order to attract business investment. The goal behind the insurance cluster is to build a demand driven, sustainable organization to identify and address industry needs related to competition, efficiency and innovation by utilizing talent development, improving business climate factors, attraction, and awareness.

About the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership (NEIRP) was created in 2006 to help build a globally competitive economy in Northeast Indiana through business development, capacity building and job growth. In 2010, Vision 2020 was formed under the umbrella of the Partnership to build the capacity of the region in five key areas: 21st Century Talent, Competitive Business Climate, Entrepreneurship, Infrastructure and Quality of Life. By combining business development efforts with capacity building, NEIRP has the tools needed to leverage the region's current attributes and build future strength. For more information, visit www.NEIndiana.com.